


Come to Join

by Laylah



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Coming of Age, Multi, Rites of Passage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-26
Updated: 2011-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-15 23:12:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/165843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laylah/pseuds/Laylah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night of Tear's coming of age is warm, the air heavy and still, the sky clear overhead. It's the nearest full moon to the summer solstice, one of the most auspicious of the year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come to Join

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vangirl/gifts).



The night of Tear's coming of age is warm, the air heavy and still, the sky clear overhead. It's the nearest full moon to the summer solstice, one of the most auspicious of the year. She bathes under the first light of the moon, then dresses in the plain ritual robe and leaves the manor house by the southern door, the one that opens out toward the forest.

The others are waiting for her there: Van and Legretta, of course, but the others, as well—already transformed, ranging toward the dark of the wood, watching with shining golden eyes as Tear steps out onto the grass.

"Welcome, little sister," Van says. The ritual words are simple. "Will you join us?"

Tear nods. She's sure the others can smell her nervousness, her excitement. "Gladly," she says.

"Then leave those trappings behind," Legretta says, smiling, "and follow."

She and Van turn as one, shifting in the same motion, dropping to all fours and bounding forward as their wolf-selves—one golden and one earth-brown. Long strides carry them toward the forest quickly; Tear sheds her robe as the ritual demands and runs after them.

Under the spreading branches of the trees, the darkness grows thick, and Tear has to strain to see the trail ahead, the fleeting shapes of the pack running before her. The ground is uneven under her bare feet, soft dirt and slick fallen leaves and the occasional rough stone; she has to wrap her arms around her chest as she runs to hold her breasts still, so they don't ache. Her breath burns in her lungs as she pushes herself to keep up with the wolves' pace.

Her human body is poorly suited for this. She wishes for a wolf's keen senses, a wolf's tough paw pads, a wolf's endless endurance. Maybe that's the point of this chase.

One of the others of the pack cuts out of the dark wood beside her, running close behind Tear, his fangs flashing when moonlight slips between the trees. He snaps at her heels, harrying her—Sync, then. She can't tell them by sight, not when there's so little light that she can't see colors. Tear dodges, weaving through the trees, her heart pounding. Once she stumbles and nearly falls, biting back the cry of pain as she catches her foot on a sharp rock. The ground slopes downward, the trees growing more sparse, and she thinks she must be close now.

There—ahead, there's a gap in the trees, and she can see the flash of movement under the moonlight. Tear pours all her strength into one more burst of speed, trying to catch up to them, to prove herself—

The last scraggly wood gives way to scrub grass and sand, and the cool salt breeze off the ocean beyond. Tear staggers to a halt on the beach; the wolves are waiting for her. They sit in a crescent-moon formation, watching her walk forward, and Tear tries to calm her ragged breathing as she approaches.

Legretta sits in the center of the formation, head high, ears pricked forward. She is the pack's alpha female, so this ritual is hers. Tear stops before her and bows deeply.

As she straightens, Legretta begins to shift, rising onto her hind legs and stretching upward—not back to humanity, not fully, but into the powerful wolf-woman form that makes outsiders fear the pack so. Tear swallows hard.

"You come to join us?" Legretta asks. Her voice is low, and rough around the edges with a growl not quite voiced.

"I do," Tear says. She tips her head back, a wolf's submission in her human body. Her nakedness is a sign that she comes to them on the wolves' terms, not on human ones, but it also leaves her so vulnerable.

Legretta makes a soft, hungry sound that makes Tear shiver. "Who speaks for her?"

"My queen," Van says from behind Tear, and it takes all her self-control not to startle, not to look back at him. His voice, too, is rich with the wolf tones. "I speak for Mystearica. I sponsor her before the pack." His hands curl around Tear's arms, his claws barely touching her skin.

"My king," Legretta says. She steps closer; Tear can feel the heat of both of them, can smell the sharp wolf musk of their fur. "As you find her worthy, so shall I." Her hands settle at Tear's waist.

Van's muzzle brushes the back of Tear's neck, a caress, an encouragement. "Welcome to the pack," he murmurs to her as Legretta leans closer.

They bite her shoulders simultaneously. For an instant Tear thinks she won't be able to bear the pain, but then she can feel how they're _changing_ her, how the moonlight bathes her in power—and Tear throws back her head and howls.


End file.
